Chapter 80: Who Poisoned Him?

“Ancestor, what’s wrong?”

Shen Squad Leader cried out in panic.

Shen Kangbo’s eyes dimmed; he closed them, sensed for a moment, then weakly said, “I’ve been poisoned by a powerful toxin.”

“Poison?”

Lu Fang frowned. Shen Kangbo was a half-sage; only a toxin of great origin could affect him—and who would dare poison a half-sage as wealthy as him?

He sensed a conspiracy.

How convenient—he arrives, and someone poisons Shen Kangbo.

Is he just unlucky, or is someone deliberately targeting him?

Shen Kangbo’s face turned ashen. “Lord Wenguan, forgive me for causing you such a spectacle. The poison is ravaging my internal organs; if I’ve been inattentive in my hospitality, please accept my apologies.”

With that, Shen Kangbo swept his sleeve.

Hum!

An ancient bronze bell rose into the air, casting mysterious light beams that enveloped Shen Kangbo.

Only moments passed.

Shen Kangbo, seated cross-legged, kept his eyes shut, his complexion worsening by the second.

It shifted from pale to a sickly green, then to carrot-red; his eyebrows nearly stood on end, his teeth clenched tight.

“Someone get here!”

Shen Squad Leader shouted. The Shen family guards rushed in. She scanned Shen Xiaxuan and Lu Fang with a cold, scrutinizing gaze.

“These two are suspected of poisoning the Ancestor. Under no circumstances are they to leave this room without my order.”

Lu Fang frowned. “Miss Shen, we’ve only been here a few minutes. To poison a half-sage so directly—you’re overestimating us.”

Shen Squad Leader’s eyes were like ice, fixed on Shen Xiaxuan.

“From what Lord Wenguan just said, you don’t even know this woman who claims to be the Ancestor’s daughter. How can you be sure she didn’t do it?”

Shen Xiaxuan frantically waved her hands. “I didn’t poison anyone! I came to reunite with my family—why would I poison Shen Kangbo? Don’t make false accusations—I didn’t do it!”

Shen Squad Leader ignored her, sneering at Lu Fang.

“Lord Wenguan, why are you silent? Can’t you even confirm her identity? Hmph! Even if you’re a marquis, if my Ancestor dies, I’ll make both of you pay with your lives!”

Lu Fang said nothing. He couldn’t verify Shen Xiaxuan’s origins, but he didn’t believe she was the poisoner.

Shen Squad Leader was too furious. If she’d just calmed down, she’d realize: how could an eighth-rank martial cultivator poison a half-sage face-to-face?

They hadn’t even touched. They’d exchanged only two sentences.

And the poison had to bypass Shen Kangbo’s awareness—that was too improbable.

“What’s going on here!”

An elderly man in his fifties entered with a group, tall and lean, his face sharp and weathered. Seeing Shen Kangbo’s condition, he roared:

“How could this happen?”

Shen Squad Leader bowed slightly. “Uncle, just moments ago, the Ancestor met Lord Wenguan and an unknown woman—then suddenly collapsed from poison.”

Lu Fang frowned. The newcomer was Shen Squad Leader’s uncle—certainly Shen Qi. He spoke up: “There’s a misunderstanding.”

Shen Qi snorted.

“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”

“Only the three of you were present when Father was poisoned. Either you did it, or she did.”

“Squad Leader, don’t think I’m accusing you—only you normally get close to Grandfather. An eighth-rank martialist and a seventh-rank Confucian? They couldn’t poison a half-sage face-to-face.”

“Given the poison’s timing, your suspicion is the greatest.”

Shen Qi spoke with solemn logic; everyone in the room nodded, murmuring in agreement.

“Uncle! How could I poison Grandfather? Don’t say such things!”

Shen Squad Leader’s expression flared with outrage.

Shen Qi’s face remained expressionless. “No one leaves this room without my order—not even Shen Squad Leader.”

“I dare anyone to try!”

Shen Squad Leader looked as if she’d been grievously wronged.

Shen Qi murmured: “Xu Yiwen—if Shen Squad Leader tries to leave, disregard her status.”

“Yes.”

A thin, tall old man stepped forward, standing rigid as a spear.

He was a first-rank Master.

Shen Squad Leader clenched and unclenched her fists, then turned to Shen Kangbo. “Ancestor… are you alright?”

No response.

Shen Kangbo’s condition was visibly dire. He sat there, emitting black mist, like a dying old man.

Shen Qi wept bitterly. “Father, rest assured—I’ll find who poisoned you. Even if I drain every last coin of the Shen family, I’ll make them pay dearly!”

Shen Xiaxuan crept beside Lu Fang, whispering:

“Brother Lu, you believe me, right? I didn’t poison the Shen Ancestor. They won’t pin this crime on us, will they?”

Lu Fang reassured her: “If you’re innocent, you have nothing to fear. The Shen family won’t let the real culprit go unpunished.”

“That’s true…”

Shen Xiaxuan looked anxiously at Shen Kangbo.

Lu Fang noticed her gaze. “The Shen Ancestor is a legend—he won’t die so easily.”

He said it, but he wasn’t certain.

After all, whoever dared poison Shen Kangbo must have been confident—otherwise, they wouldn’t have acted.

As they spoke,

Shen family members arrived one after another, wailing and threatening vengeance.

Shen Kangbo’s second son, Shen Qiheng, a middle-aged scholarly man, listened to the account, then frowned: “Brother, should we seal off Shen Mountain? The poisoner might have other plans.”

Before he finished speaking,

Shen Qicheng’s eldest son, Shen Lingyun, rushed in, shouting:

“Father! Second Uncle! We found poison in Squad Leader’s room—I don’t know what kind, come look!”

“Impossible! Shen Lingyun, don’t frame me!”

Shen Squad Leader’s eyes widened, lunging forward—but Xu Yiwen blocked her.

Shen Lingyun sneered: “You want to kill Grandfather, don’t you? After all, he’s planning to leave the Shen family to you—you’re afraid he’ll change his will, so you…”

Shen Qicheng snapped: “Lingyun, don’t speak nonsense. This powder isn’t poison—it’s ground castor beans.”

Shen Qiheng nodded. “It’s definitely castor bean powder.”

Lu Fang watched the farce, puzzled. He couldn’t be sure if Shen Squad Leader was guilty, but it didn’t feel like her.

Who’d be so foolish as to poison someone, then stay right in front of them?

Unless Shen Squad Leader was acting against logic—but everyone in the Shen family seemed hostile toward her, even antagonistic.

If Shen Kangbo died now, she wouldn’t benefit.

And if Shen Squad Leader were truly ruthless, she wouldn’t resist marrying him—it would secure her position.

Rather, Shen Qicheng and Shen Qiheng—Lu Fang knew one controlled the Shen family’s finances, the other its intelligence network.

Don’t underestimate that network. The Shen family’s business spanned the entire Zhou Empire; their intelligence was undoubtedly vast.

Lu Fang now thought: their motives were the strongest.